Man Accused of Swindling Immigrants Is Arrested in Rhode Island

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: June 30, 2007

A former volunteer research assistant at Yale University accused of defrauding illegal Irish immigrants was arrested at a hotel near T. F. Green Airport on Thursday and will be returned to Connecticut to face charges, the authorities said.

The former assistant, Ralph Cucciniello, 55, of Branford, Conn., waived extradition in a court appearance on Friday and will be taken to Connecticut within the next week, said Tim Reardon, supervisory inspector for the office of the state's attorney in New Haven.

Mr. Cucciniello is being held at the state prison in Cranston. The arrest warrant issued in Connecticut charged him with one count of racketeering and 58 counts of larceny. He also faces charges of fraudulently representing himself as a lawyer, Mr. Reardon said.

Mr. Cucciniello was initially arrested on May 1 on charges filed by the Manhattan district attorney's office, and was released on his own recognizance. The case was then referred to Michael Dearington, the state attorney in New Haven, because most of the crimes Mr. Cucciniello is accused of were reported to have happened at Yale.

Mr. Reardon said he expected that Mr. Cucciniello would be arraigned on Monday or Tuesday in New Haven Superior Court.

Law enforcement officials have said that Mr. Cucciniello posed as a lawyer affiliated with Yale and swindled Irish immigrants with promises of helping them gain United States citizenship. The authorities said they thought that he collected millions of dollars from at least 200 illegal immigrants over the past two years and provided nothing in return.

New York officials filed charges involving three people who say they were victims. The authorities said that many of the immigrants live in New York, and that Mr. Cucciniello is accused of collecting some payments there.

Mr. Cucciniello, who has been convicted before for fraud, claimed to work at the Yale Immigration Law Clinic. He promised green cards in return for between $3,000 and $7,000, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office. The Yale Immigration Law Clinic does not exist.

University officials and law enforcement authorities have said that Mr. Cucciniello was a volunteer research assistant, not a lawyer. Yale has suspended his access to all school facilities.

Mr. Cucciniello is scheduled to appear in New York Criminal Court in Manhattan on Aug. 15.